The Sydney Swans are excited to announce the Club is in the running to claim a 2019 Australian LGBTI Awards honour.

The Swans have been nominated under the sports category alongside nine other Australian people or organisations recognised for their enormous contribution to the LGBTI community.

Sydney has backed the LGBTI community in a host of ways over a number of years, including through the launch of the Diversity Action Plan in 2014 and ongoing involvement in the annual Pride Game.

The Swans also became the first professional sports team to host a float in the Mardi Gras earlier this year, while the Club’s official LGBTI supporter group, the Rainbow Swans, continues to grow in numbers.

The Swans, moreover, threw their full weight of support behind the ‘yes’ campaign for same-sex marriage in 2017 and contribute to a number of LQBTI community events, including Fair Day and the Parramatta Pride Picnic.

Sydney Swans Human Resources Manager Scott Dalby took the opportunity to bring the Club’s Diversity Action Plan to light.

“The Diversity Action Plan has been the overriding policy that all of our pride initiatives have fallen under,” Dalby said.

“In terms of a sporting context, we’re the only sporting organisation with a full diversity action plan – and that’s guided our efforts and given us a strategic focus in what we’re trying to achieve.” 

Dalby says the many Swans members who identify with the LGBTI community played a key role in being nominated for the award.

“Being nominated for this award reflects the membership that we have at our club,” Dalby said.

“We know there’s a significant portion of our members that identify with the LGBTI community. It’s really important the Club is able to reflect the members’ contributions to the Swans.”

The Swans won the community category at the 2018 Australian LGBTI Awards earlier this year.

The 2019 Australian LGBTI Awards ceremony will take place in Sydney on March 1.

You can vote by clicking HERE.

Voting will close on December 31.